Pittston Gazette

              EMT M. | VOL. Xl.ll. *». *5. f Oldest Newsuaoer in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1892. A Weedy Local and hamilv lournal. ) "T.":.," wv/ COPYRIGHT** A. KKLLUXX XEVSR\PE* C*. Mile. lieiene * ampiurnon, the t renen i suming disease, Kate?" cumstances must turn to pro lit t'ie many advantages she has enjoyed under your roof and accept a position where her talents will be appreciated." tion at nis unexpected release trom a I watery grave. tion which led the young lady, as'soon as the meal was over, to cross the little lawn in front of the house and join Dunbir and Nellie Barlow, who were sitting on a rustic seat under a giant elm tree, with Csesar stretched lazily at their feet. governess, in a pretty fanuhouse on the banks of the Thames near Chertsey, but mademoiselle was on the shady side of fifty years of age, and she felt that the young girl needed the conso- "Oh, yes; it prostrates men very suddenly and they often die in a few days, but if they manage to get to the pure air of the mountains they generally re- NYE WRITES OFST. JOE them bnefly on current topics. Thrown among strangers as he was so much all his life, it is not strange that at the last he courted quiet and rest with complete change of scene. He lived in St. Joe under the nom do plume of Howard,- and those who were impudent to him at that time now often Start up wildly in the night and shriek with terror after dreaming that Mr. Howard has returned to life in St. Joe and with a large shotgun in one hand and a John L. Sullivan ultimatum in the other is engaged in settling vup old scores. The young gentleman did not look much of a Itero, as he stood with dripping garments in the shallow water, but in Kate's eyes he was a Bayard, and when he said: "As 1 cannot get in a very much damper condition, perhaps I had better fetch your hat," and plunged once more into the river, she thought that such an act of gallantry was worthy of even her idol, Harry Grahame. "Certainly, though there is no need of hurry." THE PONY EXPRESS AND HOW IT cover." WAS FIRST STARTED. "Which Sir Harry did; that is a confessed fact. As for Honoria Grahame making a mistake, we can soon set that at rest, for the Illustrated London News has a long obituary notice and there would be no blunder there." "Well, oddly enough, an English lady, daughter of an old client of mine, is married and settled in Canada, and last week my wife received a letter from her asking her to engage and send out to her a well-educated young lady to act in the capacity of companion. The situation would lie a charming one, and the salary she offers is five hundred dollars a year, equivalent to about a hundred guineas." # "Is not this a charming spot, Mr. Drnibar?" Kate said, as she took her place by Nellie's side. The Home of Some Famous Men, Among Whom Was Jesse James—A Few Re- "It is, indeed," he responded, heartily; "it seems to me to be an ideal home— the realization of what I have read about again and again and never seen before. I tell you that dip in the river was a godsend for me. I am going to assist, as your French friend would say, at a harvest-home to-night—think of that. Miss Grahame! I never saw but one before, and that was on the stage at St. Louis and very far from the real thing, I guess." marks About Kate Kane, the Noted Chicago Female Lawyer. And the ladies found in the columns of that popular journal a full corroboration of Miss Grahame's statement that "this distinguished officer breathed his last at Kistmun on the 9th of January." [Copyright, 1892, by Edgar W. Nye.] "Row can I thank you sufficiently for the service you have done me?" she fcaid. with cheeks aglow, as he stood beside her on the bonk again. In Missouri, D In the Springtime, f St. Joe was a trading post, established in 1843, at the confluence of the Blacksnake creek with the great parent of waters. It was established by Joseph Robideaux, a Frenchman, and he is the man referred to incidentally on a tombstone up on the shores of Lake Superior. The stone reads as follows: Mr. James lived a very uneventful life at St. Joe, and the gas man who remembers now the time when he and Mr. Howard were alone in the cellar looking at the meter, and how Mr. Howard 6poke rather feelingly about the feeble veracity of the meter, and how he (the gas manD talked loud and got red in the face and bullied Mr. James into paying, now trembles like a leaf when he passes the house, and can hardly look a gas meter in the face. (CONTINUED ) Kate Grahame, wild with gnef. flung herself into the teacher's arms. "My dear," said Miss Balderstone, "I do not think I shall go to Brighton todav.""1 need hardly say that I accept so tempting an offer." Miss Balderstone said gratefully, and went away with the full belief that Mr. Colburn was several degrees too good for this vale of tears. "By saying nothing about it. Why, It was a bit of fun, not even worth mentoning, only I wish I had the mastilTs faculty of throwing the wet drops from me. See how the old rascal is rubbing his nose in the grass, and I dare say grinning at my moist condition," he replied, with a merry laugh. A GIRI. WITH A HISTORY. N ONE week "Oh, I shall die! I shall die!" she moaned. "The dearest, kindest, noblest friend—Miss Balderstone, he is dead!" M iss Balderstone's select boarding' school for young C adies will be clos-yl for the mttisuk ; CHAPTER III. IN A LAWYER S OmCll Miss Balderstone did not go to Brighton that day. Next morning she arrayed herself in silk attire and made a iescent on Furnival's inn, where the great law firm of Colburn & Carslake spun their webs to catch the litigious. And that astute gentleman forthwith telegraphed to George Archer, Hyderabad, Hindustan: "The small piece of goods under orders for shipment to Canada.""It is only a bay harvesting," Nellie Barlow suggested, timidly, "and nothing like the grand doings we have in September, when the last load of wheat comes into the stack-yard." The gentle lady soothed the girl's passionate outbreak of gr '■* ar.' she had no hesitation in taking from her unresisting hand a letter which she read with much surprise and disgust. This stone was erected to the memory of John Kobideaux Who was shot by request of his brother. "But you will come at once to the farmhouse, where I am staying," she asked eagerly. "I should never forgive myself if you caught cold. Had you not better run on at once? I am sure that Mr. Barlow would be only too glad to—" mer vacation— in seven days, or, as one enthusiastic girl has it, in one hundred and s i x t y-e i g h t "What! Are you intending to remain for our rural fete?" Kate asked, in dismay, dreading the complications which might ensue. "Deah Kate: You wUl be shocked to hear that my brother, Sir Hurry Grahame, died of Jungle fever on the 9th of January last at Kistmun, a town in the Ghauts mountains. The difficulty of communication prevented the sad news reaching us at an earlier date. Lady Scarborough ayrtes with me that under the circumstances you h k1 better delay your preparations for leaving Miss Baldcrstone tfr the present. Yours sineerely, Honoria Graham*. " "Ah, my dear madam, I am indeed delighted to 6ee you," Mr. Colburn exclaimed, with so much effusion that his manner brought a blush to his visitor's cheek, though she knew that the rotund little attorney was verging on sixty and had a wife and seven grown daughters at his Richmond villa. CHAPTER IV. KATE HAS AS ADVEKTITTtE. Joseph is the brother at whose request the stone was erected and who forgot to have the stone properly punctuated. This country in the early days was invaded by the Sacs and Foxes. A humorous historian might have said the Anglo- Saxon Foxes, but that would be facetious license. Prior to the time Mr. James lived here, Mr. Field, now of Chicago, was a resident of St. Joe. Senator Cochran and Major Bittinger now run The Gazette and Herald, respectively, and Major John N. Edwards for years littered up the streets of St. Joe with the shattered vitals of his foes. During the hot weather it was said that Major Edwards' foes who were awaiting their turn at the undertaker's became even more offensive than they were during life. St. Joe is a great overall center. The regalia of the Farmers' Alliance is made here in great numbers, and the overall girls throng here like blackbirds in the spring. If I had time I could stand for hours watching them with deft and agile fingers overalling and panting for the trade. "what a noble face!" So Miss Balderutone's romance waa crushed in the bud ere it had attained maturity, and she set out for Brighton to enjoy her well-earned holiday, but not before she had seen to the depart nre of mademoiselle and her young charge for the farmhouse near Chertsey on the Thames. lation of a younger and more sympathetic companion; so her generous nature almost drove her to give up her trip at the eleventh hour. Thus undecided.she sought Kate Grahame's charnlDer. She had a double motive for the interview, for the afternoon's post had brought the girl two letters, one from India and one addressed in the angular, Italian hand-writing of Miss Ilonoria, and she naturally expeetcd that her adadvice concerning at least one of these missives would be acceptable. "For the harvest home, yes! and I shall stay at the farmhouse all night, so let us make up our minds to be jolly." "Ha, ha, ha!" he roared. "Do 1 look like a tender youth, that a dip in a river on a glorious day like this would lay on a sick bed?" hours, for she Then Kate grew afraid of this young man. His familiarity was not at all a la mode of Scarborough house nor en regie with the gilded youths who sometimes called on their sisters at Miss Balderstone's, so she resolved to administer the mute reproof of dropping out of the conversation, a proceeding which by no means tended to check the flow of the offender's hilarity, who kept Nellie Barlow entranced with his naive remarks and genial manner. This absorption in self gave Kate a chance to take critical observations of the stranger. He was handsome—there could be no doubt of that. His features were well set; his hair was dark auburn and inclined to curl, and his eyes were as brown as Grasar's. Then he wore a moustache with no whiskers, ar 1 that gave his profile a clearcr cut expression. But it was, after all, his superb physique which was in an artistic sense his chief attraction—he had the form of an Apollo. ■ keeps them marked upon a tablet aud crosses each out with a pencil as its total of sixty minutes is consumed. Now all the world knows that Miss -Balderstone's establishment is no common seminary, nor is that lady by any meaps of the schoolmistress novelists "love tot portray—the washed-out. faded piece of gentility who presides fcver a gloomy mansion where the lives of girls are made miserable by the discipline of a penitentiary and the diet of a workhouse; for. on the contrary, the lady herself was a pleasant, brown-eyed woman of fcive and thirty, with a cheerful. lady-like manner and generous instincts. and her house, No. 7 Clarendon Terrace, Kensington—the best quarter of Ixmdon—was as brightly and handsomely furnished as any mansion in its ■vicinity. Of course, her terms were high, and, equally of course, her pupils were drawn from the very first families —in fact, to be one of Miss Balderstone's "young friends" was as good as a patent of gentility. "What does it all mean?" Miss Balderstone asked herself. "I.iit," she added, "I will soon know," and, not trusting herself again with a pen, she sent a verbal message that she would wait on Lady Scarborough at the hour mentioned in her letter, a breach of social etiquette which caused that grand personage much righteous indignation. His mirth was infectious, and she was fain to confess that he did not. "I called on you, sir," she said, with difficulty rescuing her hand from his ardent grasp, "to confer with you concerning an incident in connection with the alleged death of Sir Harry Grahame."England boasts no fairer scene than the banks of this beautiful river, winding among grassy meadows and verdant woodlands, and Willoughby farmhouse was just the large, rambling, old-fashioned, picturesque building in which to get the most enjoyment out of the lovely landscape. Moreover, John l'.arlow, its yeoman owner, and Dame Deborah, his wife, seemed to have been especially fitted by Providence to dispense its hospitalities—to say nothing of their brownarmed, blue-eyed daughter Nellie, whose rustic beauty might have made her the heroine of u pastoral poem. "Then excuse me if I do not put on my coat over my wet clothes; ana show me the way to your farmhouse, for unless you accompany me, to give an explanation of my amphibiousness, I shall not dare to present myself. Resides, in your country no one goes anywhere without an introduction, I understand." "Sir Harry's 'alleged' death! What can you mean, Miss Balderstone?" The lawyer's face expressed not only surprise but dismay—nay, there was even a tremor in his voice as he asked the question. "May I come in, dear?" she said, tapping lightly at the room door. When, however. Miss Haiders tone's neat brougham drew up at the door of Scarborough houses the resplendent hall porter, on reading her card, confessed that "*er led'sUip his at 'ome" and called a footman to summon the groom of the chambers to conduct her to the blue reception room. "Oh, please, dear Miss Balderstone, I am so glad you are here!" "Then you are not an Englishman?" 6he demanded, in surprise. It was easy to tell how the girl's time had been occupied, for on the table at which she had been seated was a toy easel on which rested the photograph of a military officer, while around it were scattered a number of open letters she had evidently been reading. "I mean that his adopted daughter, Kate Grahame, has received this letter from him, which you perceive is dated after the published period of his de- "Not exactly, though my forefathers were. lam a Yankee—a pure, unsophisticated native of the state of wooden nutmegs." St. Joe is said to be the richest city of its size in the world. In traveling about I run across a good many of those. The richest city of its size is getting to be very plenty in America, and in numbers is only equaled by the "town which haa never had what you may call a boom, but has a regular, steady and healthy growth." I wish I could remember how many of these towns I have encountered just this season. "Ah, I have read Sam Slick—you mean you were born in Connecticut?" Kate asked, much amused. "And what are you doing in England?" Both of llarrv Grahame's sisters were in mourning—not, of course, in grand state, but in the embryo mortification of crape aud cashmere. The attorney gave a sigh of relief as lie glanced at the document. cease." To Kate Grahame the quiet retirement of this lovely spot was as a healing balm, bringing color to her cheeks and peace to her mind, though I must confess that Mile. Campiguon, who regarded a cow as a wild animal with chronic designs on her personal safety, and dreaded even covering the tips of her toes with the morning dew, pined for the gay streets and brilliant boulevards of her adored Paris. "Is that Sir Harry's portrait?" Miss Balderstone asked. "What a noble face!" "Gracious! how you startled me!" he said, nervously. "You ladies are positively so impressionable—so ready to jump to conclusions without sufficient data, that—" "So good of yoii to come," simpered "Loafing; and until to-day I have not got much fun out of1 the experiment." Honoria. "Noble! Ah, madam, you know not how noble! So pure in heart, so considerate of others, so brave and generous—a perfect paladin of truth and chivalry. Yes, that is this likeness of Sir Harry Grahame," was the girl's response, her eyes flashing a glowing tribute to her dead friend's memory. Kate was a little mystified by the term "loafing," which had never penetrated into the classic precincts of Miss Balderstone's establishment or the genteel atmosphere of Miss Honoria's drawing-room, and, concluded that it must be an Americanism for hunting for loaves or getting one's living. She forebore making any further inquiries on so delicate a subject, for of course, it was no business of hers how the youug man earned his bread. It only enlightened her as to the fact that he was a toiler and had to work for sub- "For of course wc could not leave the house to call on you," my lady explained.She knew she ought to play propriety and check this young man's freedom of manner, but when ,she began to analyze all he said and did, she could not but confess that there was not a shadow of impertinence about him—his geniality was the spontaneous outflow of exuberant spirits, untrammeled by the rigorous bonds of social intercourse to which she had been accustomed. So she allowed his good nature to carry the last barrier of her reserve, and in half-an-hour they were all chatting as gayly as if there were no such things as British formality or hypercritical French governesses. A short time ago I visited The Bee office, in Omaha. Mr. Rosewater says it is the largest newspaper office on the globe. It is certainly the largest I ever saw. It is fireproof and very well planned for convenience. I A short time ago we passed" through Callaway county, Mo. CallawSVeQEgity has the honor of having seceded at one time from the state of Missouri Acting on the principle that if a state could secede, the divine right also belonged to a county, Callaway refused to recognize the emancipation fad and also rocked 'back on her haunches and refused to pay taxes to the state. This ran on for some time, but at last she was forced to come back into the Union because foreign powers refused to recognize her sovereignty and her currency was not taken at par by other nations, as it was poorly printed by an amateur job printer, who did it in colors. "Then you think that there is nothing in it?" Miss Balderstone interrupted.Yet, of all Miss Balderstone's young ladies none were so envied as Miss Kate Grahame, the adopted daughter and reputed heiress of Sir Harry Grahame, whrt, notwithstanding the fact that a dozen years ago lie succeeded to the baronetcy and a rent roll of twenty thousand pounds a year, continues to serve her majesty in India, where he has covered hinself with glory. Of course he is young yet and it is on the cards that he might marry, but those who know him best are assured that he never will. "1 But Miss Balderstone cut their compliments short by abruptly stating "that her visit must be brief, as Kate Grahame was in no condition to be left in the charge of servants."' AT THE ORAVE OF ROBIDEACTX. A steamboat landing was erected here at great expense by driving a pole into the river bank. Soon afterward Audubon visited the place, and with prophetic eye foretold the great future in store for St. Joseph. It is the first instance on record where the prophetic eye has been utilized in that way. "Think! I am sure of it. A mere blunde r of poor Sir Harry's. Why, I have here the attestations of half a The days flew by with winged speed. Old C«sar, the house-dog, a lineal descendant of the famous mastiffs of the Belvoir valley, had taken the young girl under his especial patronage, and woe-betide the tramp who should dare to molest her in their daily scampers down grassy lanes or lonely countryroads."Yon were young when he took you under his protection, were you not, Kate?" "What!" Lady Scarborough claimed. "Kate ill! What in the name of goodness is the matter with her? She seemed to me to be particularly robust and healthy." 3o7.ru \v,..losses, chiefly natives It is true. I.nl men in official positions, and one of his body servants, Aaron (iore. a man born otr-his estate, who knew lvm from childhood, and was his valet foi the last seven years." ex- "A mere baby. I have no recollection-of the scene, but I have heard tiiat he rescued me from the stronghold of a native prince at the point of his sword, winning his way with me in his arms through a host of enemies " Robideaux laid out a townsite here and then called together the old hunters and trappers to name the little town. Mr. Robideaux had provided a large barrel of something to shatter across the bow of the newly christened craft. Each trapper suggested a name, but each name seemed to be distasteful to Joe, till Charlie Stewart, the "Old Zip Coon" of history, suggested, with his eye on the keg, that it be called St. Joseph in honor of Mr. Robideaux. "You cannot expect a high-strung, sensitive girl to receive such a communication as yours without being prostrated," Miss Balderstone said, indignantly.■'It is very remarkable. Mr. Colburn." It was Cwsar, however, who brought her into the vortex of her first adventure in this scene of Arcadian simplicity, where one would think that a young lady would be as free from startling incidents an though she were immured in the walls of a well-regulated schoolroom, and it happened in this way. sistence "Not a bit of it—a mere slip of the pen; why, I have been guilty of the same error a hundred times. You see he was up in the hills, sick—" Thus, in pleasant chat, just as if they had known each other for years, they walked side by side till the garden-gate was reached, and mademoiselle, glancing from her French novel, beheld them with intense surprise, and hurried forward to meet them. "A knightly deed, in truth. And then, Kate, as I understand it, he brought you up as his own child." And about this adopted daughter there are some curious stories, more or less believed in according to the disposition of the tattler, but the one which perhaps maintains the fewest adherents is that this beautiful girl was rescued by Sir Harry, when he was plain Cornet Grahame and she was a little baby, from the clutches of some wicked Nawaub in India CHAPTER V. THE HARVEST HOME. "Oh," Miss Honorla sniffed, "I suppose you think she ojight to have been shown more consideration, but you are not acquainted with all the particulars of.my dear brother's sad death." "lie did. For a time I Jived in charge of an Ayah in his own bungalow, the pet of the regiment, and when I was ten years old he sent me to a boarding school at Calcutta, where I remained for nearly six years; then—ah! shall I ever forget the day—he caine one morning and told me that 1 must come to England, for his sist«r had promised to he a mother tCD me and the climate was not good for me. That.—was—tiie—very last—time—I—saw—him!" "He does not say so." "Ah, my dear lady, you never knew Harry Grahame. He was the last man in the world to worry others with his affliction, especially one to#whom he was so much attached as he was to this young lady.'" All the fat was in the fire. Mademoiselle flatly refused to permit Kate Grahame to share the festivities of the harvest home, pronouncing that harmless rural fete a vulgar orgy, in which no young lady with proper sentiments ought to dream of taking part. All this in a volubility of words —only part of which were understood— she propounded to Mrs. Barlow, who forthwith carried the unpleasant tidings tO TUG JOViar -Cr»  insinuation with the vigor of his sturdy race. He had been altogether averse to having a French woman in the house, and had only yielded out of regard for Miss Balderstone, firmly believing that his ponds would be depleted of frogs and that strange, unholy dishes would find their way into his larder. "Mroe. Campignon, permit me to introduce to you Mr.—, Mr.—" Kate broke down with an embarrassed little laugh, for she did not even know the name of her newly found friend. "Or. that he died without making a will," added her ladyship. Mademoiselle had a headache — which meant that she was anxious to retire to a hammock under the appletrees in the orchard and feast her soul on the thrilling incidents of a French novel, of which she always pictured an tha luDrmnC» — and Kpte and her four-footed friend started on a ramble down the river bank. It was a lovely morning for a walk, for, though the July sun shone with unwonted radiance, a fresh western breeze fanned the air and made tiny white-caps on the ruffled stream. "Which makes all the difference in her position," continued Ilonoria. "Knock her head in," said Joe, and the barrel was busted quicker than a New York Sunday law. "There may be something in that," Miss Balderstone confessed. "Arthur Dunbar,"' he said, with quiet assurance, making the governess a bow which would have been deemed creditavl- — -*»D» nf fifiv own m.-fJtn-n But mademoiselle was not to be propitiated so easily. Like a hen protecting her one chick from the swoop of a hawk, she ruffled her feathers and received the young man's advances with the iciest frigidity. _ Anyhow she is there—a palpable, and to some people, a disagreeable fact, for Harry Grabame's eldest sister had married Lord Scarborough, by no means rich for a nobleman, and had a host of small "bonorables" to provide for.while his second sister, Honoria, lived in single blessedness in Sir Harry's town, house, the chaperone of his young ward, "All the difference in the world," echocd her sister. General good feeling prevailed, followed by remorse and Apollinaris water. The streets were named while the gen_ . _ * _ J -i. m X— ■— . . « _ "And now that we "p«n this subject," Mr. uorrrarn continued, v» _  yet determined tone, "may I put you right on one other matter. You spoke just now of this young person as Sir Harry Grahame's adopted daughter. What do you mean by that? The legal definition of the phrase would mean "Though it may make a difference in her prospects," the schoolmistress said, spiritedly, "I fail to see how it puts her outside the pale ©f Christian sympathy. Her loss has come upon her so suddenly—"Sobs choked her utterance, vailing. They were nametf rariflB wSft and daughters of whom Joseph had repeatedly found himself the parent. Among them were Messanie, Angelique, Sylvanie, Charles, Edmund, Felix, Francis, Jtile, Fareon, Michel, Rosine, Antoine, Louis, Fouline, Auguste, Isabelle, Iodine, Fouberg, Robideaux, Alfonse and Poisson. The streets were the first to give out, for Joseph still had his quiver full of names. "Yes, except this one which I received an hour ago from Miss Grahame. Please read it" "And those letters—are they all his?" "Really MissBalderstone," Lady Scarborough said, severely, "I do not think it is necessary to carry the manners of the school-room into the parlor. You are so accustomed to criticize in your own household, that I am afraid you forget that your opinion of right and wrong may not have the weight it deserves in the outside world. Nay, do not go. We have much to discuss yet. You see Kate is fortunate to have fallen into jour good graces, while I am obliged to confcss that she has failed to awaken the slightest interest in the hearts of either my sister or myself." Miss Bahlerstone glanced overthe letter the girl handed to her. She was, I believe, take her for all in *11, as charitable a woman as you could find. Not so Dame Barlow; that genial housewife no sooner heard the story of his brave rescue of her favorite dog than she set about her preparations for his comfort. First, he must go to bed for an hour while she dried his clothes —no, she wouldn't have him parading around the house in any of John's garments, making himself ridiculous—and he must take a tankard of her famous elderberry wine mulled and piping hot, with nutmeg and a pinch of ginger in it. Kate stood on a little knoll enjoying the pretty landscape, her hand resting on the great dog's head, when—whiff) a gust of wind swept the dainty strawhat from her head, whirled it like a kite in the air, and dropped it ignominiously into the middle of the current, where the small eddies played around it and bore it triumphantly to the weir, a hundred yards below, lodging it at last in a little island of willows just above the miniature Niagara. T(V but I am afraid it was in no spirit of Christian oieekness that she read Miss IIonoriaD opmmunieation. "What!" he said, striking his table with his huge fist, so that the glasses jingled an accompanimcnt to his wrath. "Are we to be taught manners by a frog-eating French woman? Says Miss Balderstone "wouldn't approve—why. Miss Balderstone has danced a reel on this very floor at a harvest-home with my head wagoner and didn't think she demeaned hcrson. I tell 'ec I'll see her mysen, aud if 1 can't knock some sense into her silly head, my name's not John Barlow. The lass shall come to the homing if she has a mind to, and there's an end on't." Robideaux built a big brick store, which was known far and wide as the great building of the western country. It is now a modest sausage factory famous for its manufacture of the toothsome black-and-tan sausage of Missouri "Dear Kate: I inelene a check on Drum mond's bank for twenty pounds. This must be Considered as closing our Interest In your affairs. Lady Scarborough, however, surjests, and I hcarily Indorse the proposition, that It would bo a mark of good taste if you were to adopt some other name tliaij Grahame, which, with Miss Balderstone's connivance, you can very readily do: and in case you arc willing to accede to tiiis very" reasonable request, a further gum-of fifty pounds will bo placed at your disposal. Very truly yours. Of course the ladies occupied a suite of apartments to themselves, and. though they took their meals at the same hour as the farmer's family, enjoyed them in state alone in the great oak-paneled parlor. When the dinner hour arrived, then, Kate was in considerable perplexity as to how Mr. Dunbar would fare, for she heard him chatting gayly to the liarlows in the family sitting-room. and knew that he must be Joseph has long since passed on to that eternal hunting ground where the coonskin cap is entirely superfluous. His portrait now hangs in the board of trade auditorium of the prosperous city. The girl, with a little moue of comical distress, appealed to the mastiff for assistance, but the honest fellow responded with a mute reproach in his brown eyes, as much as to say that he was not that kind of a dog at all. I SAT ON THE WOODBOX. "ISesides," pleaded Honoria, ''she is no kith or kin of ocrs. Of course, it is all very proper for her to deplore poor Harry's death—it would be very ungrateful of her if she did not—but as for her being treated as one of the family, Cii is perfectly preposterous to dream of sucKa tiling-." "Nor ttb-J-feelieve that anything more need be done mr her," chimed in her ladyship. "She has a good education, a good outfit of clothes—and in this matter I cannot/but feel thankful that the admirable rules of your establishment preclude the wearing of costly materials. for what she has will be quite fitted to her new sphere—and with * few pounds in her picket, she is bettor equipped to start in the world than half the girls of the middle classes who are left orphans at her age." Crossing the river from Jefferson City, I noticed the gait of a young man in a brand new suit of Fort Dodge clothes. I asked a Missouri man to look at him. He said: "Yes, that's a convict just out. He still has the prison step." "Honoria Grahame.'1 St. Joe in 1860 became the starting point of the famous pony express, a daring enterprise, which no one but an American would have deemed possible. There was a Wall street scheme at that time for obtaining a subsiby of ten millions of dollars from the government for carrying the mails overland from New York to San Francisco for a year. William H. Russell, backed by Secretary of War Floyd, thought the scheme was not warranted in the interests of economy. He also offered to bet $200,000, that beiug all he had with him at the time, that he could put on a mail line that would cover the 1,950 miles between St. Joe and San Francisco in ten days. "Sit down this moment, Kate, and answer this insulting proposition," MiSS Baldcrstone insisted. "There, are you ready? Now, begin." Whereupon there was a battle royal fought under French and English colors, in which half the shots missed fire, for Mademoiselle could not understand a moiety of the farmer's broad Surrey dialect, and the lady's keenest bits of satire were lost upon him. The end of it was that a compromise was effected. Miss Grahame was to be allowed to participate in the games after supper and take part in a round dance or two, with no other partner than the worthy yoeman himself or the village schoolmaster who was expected as a guest If these conditions were observed, mademoiselle under protest withdrew her objections. So harmony was restored, and John Barlow, mopping his face with his handkerchief, returned to -lie kitchen with Hying colors to announce to his women-folk his partial "Fetch it, CaBsar! Fetch it, sir!" she cried, impatiently stamping her foot. He bounded round her and barked, but made no effort to recover her lost headgear; but in his gambols he approached the verge of the high bank, and Kate, vexed at his stupidity, gave him a push which sent him with a great splash into the stream. Caesar was strong and a superb swimmer, but, like his Saxon ancestors, was mightily afraid of a cold bath, and instead of striking boldly ont into the river, made ineffectual attempts to scale the precipice, only succeeding, however, in pulling down the red clay into the water and exhausting himself in his frantic efforts. In vain Kate ran to a shallower spot and called him; her cries only urged him to wilder struggles. Then she got frightened, and tears of distress began to roll down her cheeks, while the dog cave a piteous howl and sank back into the river with hardly strength enough left to make way against tlie stream. He was a young man, and this Missourian to whom I spoke said that the prison was filled with young men. Why D this? Is it the result of Mr. James' jrratic life, oris there some unexplained reason? "Miss Kate Grahame returns Miss Orahame's check and declines any further correspondence." "But, dear Mias Balderstone," Kate pleaded, but, nevertheless, writing as she was bidden, "you forget that she is Sir llarry's sister, and that it ill-becomes one who owes so much to the family to show temper." "I AM IXDEED DELIGHTED TO SEE VOU!" HAWKED THE NEAT MAID 8EEVAITT A that he had by proper process of law acquired parental rights ever her. No 6uch ceremony ever occurred, therefore in the eyes of the law your friend is no more to him than the veriest stranger." whom she hated with all the virulence LETTER. We have been in twenty state capitals this winter, and I am sorry to say that without an exception the legislature seemed to be almost entirely engaged in the task of redistricting the state. How many millions of dollars does the reader suppose it costs to redistrict the United States so as to give the prevailing party control of the legislature? This is only another item added to the great and growing expense of an election. By and by a senator will be compelled to be dishonest in order to save anything out of his salary of $5,000 per year and pay his election expenses. of five-and-twonty years of unappreciated ivomanood. For the worst of it was that not vne-fourth of the bachelor eccentric baronet's estates were entailed, and it was quite in his power to rob his natural heirs of the bulk of bis fortune and leave it to this waif; nay, ho had even gone so far as to notify his relatives of his intention to do so. Meanwhile, of course, the young lady was a person of consideration. Miss Honoria lavished ugon her those superfluous affections which a cold world had never rightly estimated, and Lady Scarborough, having a red-headed, knock-kneed son, two yeaen Kate's junior, dreamed of the possibility of keeping the fortune in the family after all; so her words to the orphan girl were always sweeter than honey. It was Kate Orahame's last half-year at school. In another week she would begin to take her place in the gay world, and even now Miss Balderstone's young ladies were discussing the dress she would wear when the counters of Scarbarough presented her to the queen. In addition to all these smiles df fortune, Ks;te Grahame possessed great personal beauty and a disposition so sweet that she was the idol of the Bald' rstone household, from the gentle schoolmistress herself down to the boy "Temper, child! Do you mean to accuse me of temper? When did you ever know me in a teqjper? I never was calmer in my life, and—I should just like to box that woman's ears. Tell me one thing—do yc u wish to act with the spirit of independence that Sir Harry would approve of? You do? Then send that letter,' "That may be so, but for nearly eighteen years he treated her as bis. daughter." "And if for eighteen years he had treated her as his wife, would that make her so? The simile is a coarse one, and I beg your pardon. Miss Bald- The Wall street boys took the bet, and the big go-as-you-please race against time began. Mr. Russell bought 300 of the toughest and fleetest ponies he could find, and hired 125 men who could ride on horseback without painful regrets on the following day. The relays were made at ten to twenty miles apart. Each rider had to cover sixty miles, and allow himself two minutes to skip from one horse to the other with his saddlebags of mail. "What can she do?" Miss Balderstoiui pleaaeti, D..um iucui„' l»er personal indignation to the chance of securing some provision for her favorite pupil. "Brought up as she has been, it will be doubly hard for her to face the world, and—" erstone." So the check was inclosed and the'letter mailed. ''Then, can you explain to me how it Is so quickly and certainly determined that he left no will, for I am sure he never meant to leave her unprovided for?" victory. But there was another letter to discuss—the one from India. Old customs are dving out, even in England, but under John Harlow's hospitable roof, they maintained their pristine glory, as unabridged as when his ancestor had burned the Yule log on his broad hearth for the carousal of a roystering troop of cavaliers in the days of King Charles. "Oh, do not think. Miss Baldcrstone, that we ever approved of poor Harry's wickedness—1 can call it by no other name—in placing the girl in such a ridiculous position." I saw Kate Kane, the noted Chicago female lawyer, the other day. She is rather an aggressive woman, and has been fined repeatedly for contempt. Once she dashed a pitcher of cold water in the face of the court, and as soon as he could get the moisture out of his nose and wring out his whiskers and get a dry woolsack to sit on he fined the aggressive lawyer with great alacrity. This winter she has been again fined, this time for using language unbecoming a gentleman. She is a pi am woman, with a nrm mouth. When she looked toward my seat as though she thought of sharing it with me I gave it all to her and sat on the wood box. Sometimes the woodbox feels sort of comfortable, I think. "I do not like to pry into your affairs, my love," the schoolmistress said; "but did you not receive a communication from India to-day?'- •q&j "I can. He carried with him a will properly drawn \ip leaving all of his disposable property to this young lady, but he never signed it. On his deathbed he deplored this fact to the surgeon of the Ninth regiment, who had been summoned to attend him, and whose testimony I have here, and it was while this gentleman was hurrying to the house of an English missionary to Becure his services as a eo-witness that he breathed his last." It was just at this critical moment that a young- man leaped lightly over a stile and ran swiftly up to her. Her JOHN BARLOW WELCOMED HIM. "But now the mischief is done, sur©- "Ah, yes! here it is. And to think that the hand which wrote it is cold in death, it is from him, dear friend, and comes to me as a voice from the grave. Will you read it. too?" in a presentable condition. Would mademoiselle recognize his claim to their hospitality? That estimable lady made no sign. The trim housemaid laid the cloth as usual for two, and Kate's heart sank at the prospect of such apparent ingratitude. But, if the parlor shut its inhospitable door on the intruder, the kitchen made up for the deficiency, for jovial John Barlow took n great fancy to.the outspoken young man and welcomed him to his hearth and board with open-handed heartiness. April 6,1860, the pony express started. A gun fired on the steamer Sacramento, in the bay at San Francisco, waa the signal. Billy Baker, mounted on the restless little hornet Border Ruffian, made a little cloud of dust, and, as the echo of the big gun died away, swift as the telegram raising the salary of the operators along the line, he sped toward the Sierras. iy—" LoDg tables were set in the great kitchen, preparatory to .the coming feast. But the first ccrcmony was the homing-proper, the bringing of the last load of sweet-smelling hay from the field, in the gloaming, just before the dew began to fall upon the grass. "We wash our hands of the consequence. Kate must act quite independently of us. Let her go out as a governess. or even lady's maid. I am sure that the duchess of Ilipon at Cowes last summer had quite an accomplished girl in her service, and I should think such a life much preferable to that of a preceptress, who in the social scale is somewhat in the position of Mahomet's coffin in the cave of Mecca float'rg between earth and Heaven— tne servants' nan ana her mistress drawing-room." . « h i "What a charming epistle it is! Oh, Kate, you have indeed lost a friend in this man," Miss Balderstone ejaculated, as her eye Tan hastily over graphic descriptions of life in an Indian village, amusing gossip concerning mutual acquaintances, and occasional words of tender solicitude and gentle admonitions. with here and there a clever penand-ink sketch of some grotesque figure. "All, the fatal blunder! But, surely, Mr. Oolburn, the spirit, if not the letter, of this document should be regarded. It seems to me that his sisters' treatment of the girl—" The ir.st forkful was pitched upon the michtv load, the ropes were tied from wraithe to wraithe to keep it in place, and the women and chiiilren were hoisted up to.the top of it, the former exhibiting- considerable coyness in th§ process, and the heavy horses, with harness decked*with started at a stately pace, John Barlow leading1 the procession on his fat cob, and the haymakers bringing' up the rear and merrily trolling a song with the re- All went well. The first rider made twenty miles in forty-nine minutes. Everything ran smoothly, notwithstanding the Indians and the deserts, till the courier reached the Platte. It was a case of Damon and Pythias, so far as high water went, and the treacherous river was more than bank full of icy water rushing over its uneasy bed of quicksand. He only thought of his employers, however, and plunged in. The steed went down like a shot and was never more seen, but the brave rider, with his bag, battled with the roaring, icy torrent till he stepped, panting and dripping, on the muddy shore, and with chattering teeth and a staggering gait started for the station ten miles away. " Take thy seat, lad. an' help tlieesen. There benn't much of a spread to-day, l'or to-niglif we have a liny-harvest homing, and the w omen folk .are busy o'er the big supper: but 1 reckon tliee'll find enough to sharpen thy teeth upon " "Pardon me. Let us strip the story of sentiment. Lady Scarborough and Miss Grahame may have acted with resentmen—unnecessarily harshly, as you and I may think; but let us examine the matter in their light. They are neither of them wealthy. Their brother is rich. He does not marry. They naturally expect to inherit his wealth. Suddenly they are told that he, who has no heirs but them, has taken a perfect stranger and, with arbitrary disregard of their claims, set her above them. Would not even you. who are so generous, smart under such an injustice'.'" Kate Kane in her practice is regarded as an aggressive woman, as I say. There is certainly nothing actionable in that statement. If so, I will take it back, but I think I am safe in saying that she is aggressive. Sometimes she is abusive also. in buttons, who worshiped the young But in the very midst of reading, Miss Balderstone made a dead pause, looked for a moment with a puzzled expression at the page before her, and burst out with a little cry of surprise. lady from nfr.r as some being even, more glorious thnn the radiant fairies ho h; d i»ecn in the puntoraine from the gallery at Drury Lane theater. The morning's task was over, and the girls were preparing for their usual promenade in the park, when a groom wearing the Scarborough livery dashed up to the door and handed the "Lady Scarborough," Miss Baldcrstonc said, riting ax she a poke, "if the governors of your own children ever enters the heaven of her mistress' drawing-room I am afraid she will be disappointed with her glimpse of paradise."A harvest home! Arthur had read about such things, and oh, what t chance was there now for him to see one, if the big-hearted yeoman would onlv oive him an bivitation. He. wm sparest the doubt, ti-r tite lurraer, after lieapibg his plate with a prodigality that would put Dunbar's appetite to the test, added: "Why, Kate, child, the date! Quick, give me Honoria Grahame's first letter to you. Ah, I thought so. This is indeed the strangest thing I ever saw." frain " Harvest home: Work is done, Jolly companions, everyone!" IcosrriNiJKD ] Once this past year she was abusing the opposing counsel and the judge mildly reprimanded her. And having fired this broadside, the plucky little woman took her departure, not even waiting for the scarlet-plushed flunky to show her the way to her carriage.neat maidservant a letter for Miss "Oh, what is it?" Kate cried, with feverish anxiety, as the schoolmistress paused in her hurried ejaculations and sat gazing with a blank look at the two letters before her. "You should remember," he said gently to Katie, 'What while the court may permit pretty strong language at times, you have gone over the bounds in this case and seemed to forget that there are ladies present." Balderatline which he asserted required an immediate answer, and then, as if struck with an afterthought, produced another addressed to Miss Grahame. The schoolmistress' brow cloudcd as ■lie perused the lines addressed to her. "Lady Scarborough presents her kind regards to Miss Balderstone and would be exeeedintrlv oblisred if she would call upon her this afternoon at three o'clock to meet Miss Grahame and discuss a jnatter of the deepest consequence." "Well, my Lady Scarborough," Miss Baldefrstone muttered to herself, "I did not think even your chronic impudence would have carried yon as far as that," and forthwith in a little flutter of indignation she ran to her desk and penned the following caustic reply: "Miss Balderstone presents her kind regards to Lady Scarborough and she will be at home at three o'clock this af- "why, it was a bit of fun." BALMY SPRING. whole mind was concentrated on the drowning dog-, and she hardly vouchsafed him a glance as she pitifully appealed to him for aid. •'May happen thee never seen a harvest homing1—don't have such doings in thy country, eh? Well, dang m.v buttons. if tliec shan't stay for ours this eve. and 1 won t take no for an answer Get my chest protector out, my velvet earmuffs too. Sixty miles out from St. Joe, Johnny Fry awaited the arrival of the courier till it seemed to him it was too late to possibly make it. When he got his packet he had four hours to make up. It looked impossible. At St. Joseph thousands were gathered on the bluffs to see the last rider como in. People hardly breathed as the time drew near, and yet no signs of his approach. It was getting to be a torture to wait. No one spoke. As the time was almost up a little cloud of dust rose on the western horizon, then soon after the measured beat of a pony's hoofs came pulsating on the breeze, and, lathered from head to heels, the panting pony, with wild eye and fluttering breath, came stumbling to the spot, making the last mile in one minute and fifty Beoonds.CHAPTER XI. MISS BAI.DERKTOKE MAKES A DISCOVERT. "Am I out of my senses, Kate Grahame, or does that woman really write that Sir Harry died at Kistmun on the 9th of January?" "You argue their cause well," Miss Balderstone confessed, "but it is hard on the unfortunate girl." My thick chinchilla ulster, my porous plaster true; Give ine a quinine capsulc. my drooping heart to cheer. And don't forget my rubber boots, for balmy spring is here. Of course in a high-class establishment like Miss Balderstone's there were no vulgar displays at the end of the half year, no dress-parade of the pupils, no commencement day—the school quietly dissolved without fuss or frolic, and when the last, "Cy" had carried "Poor fallow," he said, witli provbkin# calmness; *iic is in a bad way, I am "She certainly does say so." the girl replied, with round, wondering eyes. "It is. Believe me, my deRr lady, my heart bleeds for her; "andeven this verv morning my wife end 1 were discussing a project for furthering her interests. I had intended communicating with yon to-day, bat your opportune arrival obviates that necessity." afraid." "I shall be oiily too plart to accept your invitation,Arthur said, delighted, ' but had I not better walk over to the inn at Chortsey where I am staying and drive back later m the afternoon, for, if I have lojuiuJ u. . i„!)t idea CDf a harvesthome, 1 shall hardly care for a miu night trip of four miles on shanks' ponies." so there! "And will you do nothing1 to save him'.'" she asked, indignantly, but her question was superfluous, for !Defore the sentence was tinished he had Hung off his coat, waistcoat and shoes, and had plunged into the river a few yards above the spot where the panting dog was struggling. See the undertaker and obtain a special rate. Auk the railroad agent if he'll let me to ae "And this letter of bis is dated the tenth of the same month. Give me the envelope that I may see the postmark. Thank you, my love; but 1 am afraid this is not of much help to us, for the earliest stamp upon it is that of the post office at Hyderabad, duted January 21, and we must make allowance for its coming down the mountains probably by native carrier." freight; Buy a r««e»ood casket and linve the parsoD A Map of Chicago. Chicago Lady—Were you ever in Chicago?away its load of happy girls, the mistress usually attended to the packing of her own trunks BDd hied herself away to the seaside or on a tour of foreign travel. near, For i must walk abroad today—and balmy spring is here. Little Miss Gotham—No, ma'am, but I've seen a map of it in my g'ography. Chicago Lady—Ah, yes, of course. Was it a large map? "I am sure we shall be grateful for any suggestions," the schoolmistress said, a little stiffly, for no woman liken to be convinced ugainBt her will, and she had been obliged to acknowledge to herself that her suspicions were utterly groundless. Then go to the marble yard and choose a bandgome stone, Hire au elecutionist to teach you how to moan; Have six horses to the hearse, ten coaches in the rear, For I must go down town today—and balmy spring is here. How boldly he struck out to Caesar's side! There was such a power in his movement, that Kate never for an Instant felt a tremor for his safety—she was simply absorbed in a thrilling admiration of his manly courage and superb strength. Putting his arm around the dog's neck he gentry forced him down the stream to a spot where the bank was lower, and in a couple of minutes Caesar was rolling on the grass 9f the ipfadow, whjeing hia s%tisfa«~ This half-year the accustomed programme was to be followed, but she found herself making her preparations to depart with but half the usual elasticity of spirits which gladdened her heart on the eve of a vacation. The fact was a sweet girl-face, pale and tear-stained, perpetually haunted her. True, she had done her best to relieve the poor child's sorrow, even to the extent q{ eugaging rooms for hey and "And dost thee think, lad. that I would have thee do it? No, bide where thee art, and the misses 'ull gin thee a shake-down. To-morrow 's a slack day, an' I'll drive thee back i-iysen in the tax-cart." Little Miss Gotham—No, ma'am, jes* a little round dot.—Good News. "Perhaps he misdated his letter," Kate said, white with suppressed excitement, "or, Miss Grahame may have made a mistake." "Well, It is this: Of course Miss— Miss—by the bye, did the young lady adopt Lady Scarborough's suggestion of assuming another name?" Lay me on a sunny slope, where birds sing in the trees; Don't put shells around my grave, they're not the proper cheese; Oive my fond farewell to all my friends and comrades dear. A Realist. Kraheck—I say, old chappie, got a postoffice order, eh? ternoon, when she will be glad to re- ceive her ladyship and Miss Grahame to discuss the matter of consequence alluded to in " She had just got thus far with her letter when the door yras burst open and 1 So that was settled, and Arthur Dunbar took one step nearer to his fate. "He may; but the letter conld not have been written long before his death, and you see that he says nothing about his illness. Do you know if jungle lever is a protracted or Quickly 9Q&- St. Joe was the last residence of Jesse James. He lived here quietly, having traveled a great deal formerly by rail during his life, meeting up with strangers pn the car» .ceamsiw Kith Grapp—AchI here my mother sends me 200 marks and 1,000 kisses. I should have been a thousand times better pleased if it had been the other way about.—Lustige Blatter. "She did not." This very frigidly. in the parlor, tilings were not progressing so pleasantly. Mademoiselle was peevish and Kate was rebellious. It WM perhaps the very spirit of oppoji- "Well, then, Miss Grahame—of course Miss Kate Grahame—under existing cir? And tell them to remain Indoors when balmy spring is here. —New York Evening Sun.